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Monday, December 13, 2021

Monday Musings - 1 in 100 Americans over 65 have died of Covid

 This article (NY Times Covid deaths over 65) is very sobering for those of us over 65. Although being fully vaccinated is protective as the article says even among the vaccinated many over 65 continue to isolate and not participate in everyday life long after younger folks have returned to work, school, socializing, etc. Although the article doesn't break the over 65 deaths down into age bands or other contributing health conditions, the concern is legitimate for all of us in this age group.

This quote really resonated with me. 

"The relentless waves of new threats — a surge of the Delta variant and now the new Omicron variant — have been especially stressful for older Americans, prompting some people to consider tightening restrictions on their lives even more, during a period of life when socializing and staying physically and mentally active is considered essential."

No wonder I am struggling with how to return to a more normal lifestyle. 

Have you found a way to move back into a more pre-pandemic lifestyle? What are you doing to help yourself deal with this reality? What do you feel comfortable doing or not doing?

Let's help each other!

20 comments:

  1. We are struggling, too. We have stayed close to our immediate family and a couple friends. Otherwise, we're still masking up. We haven't gone to restaurants that are dine-in, only, and we are facing a dilemma about whether we should or shouldn't attend a large extended family holiday gathering. We'd love go, but some are not vaccinated. This might sound very minimal, but our recent move brought us to the edge of a small village. We have been taking walks and meeting people. It doesn't take long to find out there are those with needs. My husband has a big heart, and he's gotten involved with providing supplies for an older neighbor who is very ill. We don't go inside the neighbors' home, but we're able to drop things off. It's a relatively small thing, but it has given us such a lift in our spirits, to get to know a few neighbors and to find ways to pitch in and help. I think we have to become creative in how we interact with others, safely.

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    1. I love that you are finding ways to help your new neighbors. Masks are required indoors here but a few people seem to still think their nose and mouth aren’t connected. We are lucky to be able to eat outside at restaurants almost all year but it has gotten chilly finally.

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  2. Sometimes I find the idea of returning to regular every day life alarming. I am doing a few things that I usually did before. I visit a friend for coffee, but she and her husband are fully vaccinated, go shopping though I wear a mask as mandated and am in and out as quickly as possible. We haven't really gone back to attending Mass weekly, but if the number of cases in our little section fall we will go back.

    God bless.

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    1. It is a up and down thing with the number of cases isn’t it. I am going places this week with fingers crossed and mask on except when eating or drinking.

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  3. Deciding what to do about Christmas and our new Granddaughter's first birthday at the end of December are really giving us problems deciding what to do. One unvaccinated adult family member who works and attends a very a large church that isn't very supportive of vaccinations or masking, and our grandson who is in Middle School, and our baby grand daughter who goes to day care are not vaccinated. There is supposed to be food, and it will be so hard not to hug the grand kids. I am just one notch below terrified of going there. I have asthma, diabetes, and am overweight but fully vaccinated (3 shots worth). I don't want to be one of those 1 in 10 that are 65 or over that made the statistics. Oh, also it is the first time in a few years that our son has been home on leave from the military, and he will be at the celebration at our daughter's home. I don't know if I want to risk going or just stay home. I hate this Covid crap.

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    1. Wow, other family members are really putting you in a tough situation. We were asked not to come to our granddaughter’s 5th birthday simply to keep the numbers down even though all are vaccinated. We are going after Christmas while she is still on school break. Hard decisions all around.

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  4. I have surprised myself by going out more than I thought I would. Admittedly I have no grandkids. But I'm overweight with diabetes and other issues and 70. I wear a mask in stores. But i.have recently gone to a wine bar with music and the movies and knit at a coffee shop once a week. I mask when I feel it's appropriate but I have loosened up a teeny bit. I've had three shots and a flu shot and I'm being cautious but simply can no longer stay at home.

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    1. I am feeling the same way about needing to be out more. It is hard to weigh the risk and rewards in this situation. I was unhappy at how full the ophthalmologist's waiting room was yesterday but today I am going in a car with 4 members of my club to a tea at a larger women's club nearby and I know they aren't requiring vaccinations.

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    2. I wore a mask to the grocery store---and it was really busy---and I'm guessing only one in six of us were wearing masks. The campus were I live requires vaccines and strongly encourages masks but their are visitors on campus every day. I'm really tired of all this but in my town we're back to stacking dead bodies in freezer trucks outside the hospitals, so we have to be cautious. Sooner or later a variation is going to come along that our vaccines won't be good against.

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    3. I'm really sorry you have to live in a town that doesn't require masks. Such a trivial thing to require of people but it is seen as a huge thing.

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  5. As I recounted in my latest blog post, I have been TRYING to move back into a more pre-pandemic lifestyle, but sometimes my efforts have been thwarted by those who refuse to get vaccinated, as well as those who refuse to reveal whether or not they've been vaccinated. Meanwhile, we do what we can, for I agree that some kind of social life is crucial for people, esp. those of us over 65.

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    1. I found your post quite thought provoking and continued to be amazed that people prioritize not asking or not limiting unvaccinated folks from joining in gatherings.

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    2. Last Saturday I was too tired to attend a Christmas pot luck at the home of my art group. We have been meeting every Thursday in a large home of our leader, and she has require us to be vaccinated to attend. We quit wearing masks and distancing, a few months back since all vaccinated.Well, 5 people came away from that party with Covid! I am so glad I didn’t attend! All art group meetings are suspended for now. I know our leader watches her grandkids twice a week, and her daughter and the grandkids are not vaccinated.And how many of us also have been around unvaccinated people? AND Omicron.. is breaking through.So, of course, now “being vaccinated” doesn’t mean we are safe. Such hard times!!!

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    3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  6. Here in Arizona, maybe half the people in stores wear a mask, probably even less. I maintain distance int he grocery and the library and wear a mask. A good KN95. I personally know over 10 people both here and in New Jersey where I have family, who have gotten Covid in the past 2 weeks, and ALL OF THEM HAVE HAD 2 vaccinations!!

    With Omicron, now,I am hibernating once again and it feels awful. But my card playing group has cancelled games till after the holidays with a “wait and see” approach. Two Christmas gatherings (of only vaccinated folks) were cancelled. We gave away tickets to our small theater locally, since they do not require attendees to mask up and it is a small theater. We don’t feel comfortable spending 3 hours in a small theater with unmasked patrons!

    It is frustrating to have to pull back in again. But maybe we know how to do it a little better.I had so hoped to travel some in 2021, but we also have a family member who got very sick feom his vaccination and we have had to help care for him.So we had to cancel some local getaways we had planned during this past year.

    Some days I have to work very hard to keep a positive attitude.

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    1. It sounds like your area and your family are a bit ahead of mine in terms of the Omicron infection wave. I was just reading this morning as to how quickly it spreads even among vaccinated folks. Sorry you have had to pull back so much but it sounds wise.

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  7. I talked to my nurse practitioner friend yesterday. She said, "Wash your hands, wear your mask and get on with your life." I will do that. But I won't go to the new year's eve party in my retirement community. I confess, though, I probably wouldn't have gone anyway. My husband and I don't drink, and we're both recovering from summer surgeries so we wouldn't dance.

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    1. Glad you have found an approach you are comfortable with.

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  8. My husband and I have both had our boosters, and will continue to wear our masks and keep mostly to ourselves. We live near our kids, and have gone back to Sunday dinners together; hoping we don't have to draw back on that again.

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  9. That is pretty much what we have done except I do also spend some of my club friends who are fully vaccinated. My husband has lunch with one friend and with his brother occasionally plus seeing one of our neighbors. All are also fully vaccinated.

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